PROPOSED BUDGET FY19

BGMEA chief confident govt will change proposed RMG taxes

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Md Siddiqur Rahman speaks at a press conference on the proposed budget of financial year 2018-19 held at BGMEA headquarters in Dhaka on Saturday. — New Age photo

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association on Saturday demanded reduced corporate tax at 10 per cent from the proposed 15 per cent and withdrawal of the source tax for the next three years.‘Every year, the government increases corporate tax and source tax in the RMG sector and we bring it down through discussion with high ups of the government. This year also we will be able to bring down the taxes that have been proposed in the budget through discussion,’ BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman said at a press conference on the proposed budget of financial year 2018-19 held at the headquarters of the trade body.Finance minister AMA Muhith in his national budget speech on Thursday proposed to increase corporate tax rate for manufacturers and exporters of readymade garments to 15 per cent from existing 12 per cent.The finance minister also proposed tax rate for green building certificate holding apparel companies at 12 per cent from existing 10 per cent. The BGMEA president said that the RMG sector earned 83 per cent of total foreign currency and it was the only one sector generating employment in the country.He demanded waiver from submitting value added tax returns to the VAT office.‘The export sector is free from VAT but we have to submit VAT returns to the government to get the rebate facility. We do not want to go to the VAT office as immoral activities take place in the office,’ Siddiq said.The BGMEA president, however, termed the proposed budget business-friendly saying that it would create employment in the country.Although the BGMEA president demanded corporate tax cut and weaver from source tax, he said that nothing was problematic in the proposed budget for the RMG sector.